Welcome to the NHS (Scotland) Partial Retirement Calculator
Please note this calculator only allows members to take partial retirement from age 55 onwards due to additional complexities with the Pension Increase Act. However, members of the 1995 section with service pre 2006 can apply from age 50. Eligible members who apply from age 50 should be aware they will need to take 100% of their pension if they retire before they are 55. Special Class or Mental Health Officer members with a protected normal pension age of 55, who retire before age 55, will lose their protected benefit status and their normal pension age would revert to age 60 instead of age 55.
From 1 October 2023, the regulations changed so members of the 1995 Section could take partial retirement and all members of the NHS Pension Scheme can claim up to 100% of their pension benefits when they partially retire. You can find more about partial retirement at https://pensions.gov.scot/nhs/ready-retirement/partial-retirement
If you have membership in the 1995 Section, this calculator enables you to see the effect partial retirement could have on your salary and pension income. It will give you a basic illustration of your projected benefits at partial retirement based on both 1995 Section and 2015 Scheme benefits. It allows you to see an approximate comparison based on the information you input and uses certain assumptions about what will happen in future in most, but not all, circumstances.
This calculator does not provide illustrations for members in the 2008 Section or those who only have service in the 2015 Scheme.
Questions you may want to ask
Am I eligible for partial retirement?
To be eligible for partial retirement you must:
- Have reached your minimum pension age.
- Be an active member of the Scheme.
- Reduce your actual pensionable pay by at least 10% for the 12 months starting from the date you take partial retirement. This can be achieved by:
- A 10% reduction in pensionable pay based on your pensionable pay for the 12 months before you take partial retirement, or
- A change in your terms and conditions of employment to reflect your reduction in pensionable pay, with the rest of your terms and conditions staying the same. GP’s, Dental Practitioners, Ophthalmic and non-GP Providers need to reduce their commitment by 10%.
- Expect your new level of pensionable pay to last for at least 12 months from the date you take partial retirement.
- Not have already claimed partial retirement on two occasions.
How to use this calculator
It will not check your information against pension or other systems, so if you enter inaccurate information, the figures you get will be of limited value. No data you enter into this calculator is stored or processed.
By using this calculator, you agree that you have read and understood the Terms & Conditions as set out in the T&Cs' tab.
This calculator is for guidance and illustration - it will give you a basic illustration of your projected benefits at partial retirement based on both 1995 Section and 2015 Scheme benefits. Things such as tax debits are not taken into account. If you have these, or other additional options, the figures you get may be less accurate, but still helpful. The outputs of the calculator are not financial advice - if you’d like to speak to an independent financial adviser you can find one at unbiased.co.uk.
The assumptions we have used are:
| Consumer Price Index | 2% per year |
| Earnings inflation | 2% per year |
The figures output by the calculator are projected benefits and will not be the same as those in your Annual Benefit Statement.
The projected benefits in this calculator are in “today's money” – this means the values are adjusted for inflation and represent what the pension would be worth today, so you can compare it with your current earnings and the amount you think you’ll need in retirement.